CNN Stops Broadcast in Russia

Turner Broadcasting System Europe Limited has stopped the broadcasting of CNN in Russia following the new law signed by President Vladimir Putin last October about the presence of foreign media in Russia. 

“Turner International is assessing its distribution options for CNN in Russia in light of recent changes in Russian media legislation,” a Turner spokesperson told BuzzFeed News. 

“We are bringing our existing distribution relationships to an end while we do that. We hope to re-enter the market in due course, and will notify our partners of any update about resuming these services. The CNN Moscow bureau operation remains unaffected.” 

CNN began operating in Russia since 1993, just a few years after the channel was launched in the United States and after the end of the Cold War. CNN will stop its broadcast at the end of this year.

Last October, Putin signed a new law that lowered the maximum share in Russian mass media companies that foreign countries could hold from 50 percent down to 2- percent. Similar restrictions were put into place in 2010 to Voice of America and BBC Russia.